DUBAI, 4 July 2006 — Dubai’s first quarter report on hotel occupancy rates announced yesterday by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) showed an increase in guests and revenues.
Hotel occupancy increased to 1.7 million people in the first quarter of 2006 from 1.6 million in the same period last year. There was also a reported 20 percent increase in revenue by hotels.
The number of booked nights in hotels increased 5.7 percent in this period of time. All other forms of lodging, such as furnished rooms and apartments, increased.
The Dubai International Airport also handled 58,141 landings and more than 6.89 million passengers. During the same period Dubai hosted 53 conferences and exhibitions and 217,307 visitors came to the Dubai World Trade Center for them.
The DTCM Director General Khaled A. ibn Sulayem said that Dubai’s success in the tourism sector could be attributed to new projects, although the region’s current economic boom that is linked to oil prices would also have an influence on the increase in regional tourism activity.
